We’ve all heard that old saying, “Practice makes perfect.” This is
true for good pursuits, like playing the piano, as well as bad ones,
like killing.

Killing? Yes, killing! Whether it’s killing other animals, such as
deer, bears, or fish; or killing companion animals and then graduating
to killing and raping humans, one becomes more adept and also more
addicted with practice. The F.B.I. has found that one of the traits that
serial killers share is a history of cruelty to other animals.

The notorious serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer impaled the
heads of dogs and cats on sticks. The Columbine High School’s Eric
Harris and Dylan Klebold, who shot to death 12 fellow students and a
teacher and injured more than 20 others, had boasted about mutilating
animals. The perpetrator of the Washington D.C. sniper attacks, Lee Boyd
Malvo, is believed to have hunted and killed stray cats for nearly five
years before moving on to human beings.

More common is family violence that is strongly connected to animal
abuse. A target of this abuse is an animal who lives in the home.
Batterers often control their human victims by threatening, torturing,
and/or killing the victims’ companion animals.

The increasing promotion and popularity of rodeos, hunting, and
fishing, as well as the increasingly “macho” trend across the board, is
dangerous for this society and for the world, since our country sets the
style for other societies who copy us. All you have to do is look at the
ads for anything from food products to cars and trucks: violence sells.
The problem is that it also sells anti-social behavior to those who are
susceptible.

States eager to increase their revenues from the sale of hunting and
fishing licenses, as well as businesses eager to sell hunting and
fishing paraphernalia to more customers, actively recruit females. This
is a good example of what I wrote in an earlier Blog: the oppressed
become the oppressors.

Rightly does the Bible state that one reaps what one sows!
Unfortunately, the innocent always suffer along with the evil-doers.
Practice does indeed make perfect. This makes perfect sense – whether
for good or for evil.

"Joyful Curmudgeon"
An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful. At the
same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the
world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true
peace and compassion.